Data Visualization Style Guidelines FOREWARD This guide includes: basic graph structure bar graphs line graphs pie charts scatter plots maps graph or chart colors choropleth colors for maps network visualization colors This guide is meant to be a starting point for creating data visualizations for this organization. Data Series like the 1% of the 1% may have their own twist on these foundations. Visualizations that pertain to a particular project, like the 5 year review of Political Party Time, may also have variations on these standards. Feel free to use these as a starting point, and do what makes sense for your particular data. Please remember to respect the data as you go forth into the wonderful, but often confusing, world of turning numbers into visuals.
Basic Structure 650px max for a regular blog post (900px max for a feature post) 12px Title of the chart For explanatory text that s not very long. Background color: Background Light (#F5F3F2) 100px Download the sunlight logo @ http://sunlightfoundation.com/press/logos 30 units 5px 1px white (#FFFFFF) 20 units Y Axis Title 10 units 1px white (#FFFFFF) Height is variable. Make them as long as you need them to be since these are mainly web graphics. 1px white (#FFFFFF) 0 1px 4pt dash 4pt gap Line Grey 80% (#CDCDC9) ITC Franklin Gothic Demi 12px #635F5D 5px Label 1 Label 2 Label 3 Label 4 X Axis Title Georgia bold and italic 8px Left aligned text, vertically centered Text light (#8E8883) Background color: Background Dark (#EFECEA)
Text Styles Header Title with emphasis ITC Franklin Gothic Std Book Condensed with Demi Condensed emphasis 20px Left Aligned #635F5D (Text Main) Header title explanatory text Georgia italic 12px left aligned #8E8883 (Text Light) X axis & Y axis labels ITC Franklin Gothic Std Demi 12px centered on line #635F5D (Text Main) X Axis & Y Axis Title ITC Franklin Gothic Std Book 12px centered #635F5D (Text Main) Key labels ITC Franklin Gothic Std Book 10px left aligned #635F5D (Text Main) Callout text Georgia italic 10px left aligned #635F5D (Text Main) Point Label ITC Franklin Gothic Std Book 10px right aligned to point #635F5D (Text Main) Georgia bold title with italic text 8px left aligned #8E8883 (Text Light)
Background Colors Base Colors Background CMYK: 5, 5, 5, 0 RGB: 239, 236, 234 Hex: #EFECEA Background Light Accent CMYK: 2, 2, 2, 0 RGB: 245, 243, 242 Hex: #F5F3F2 Background Dark Accent CMYK: 9, 8, 8, 0 RGB: 229, 226, 224 Hex: #E5E2E0 Text Main CMYK: 59, 54, 54, 25 RGB: 99, 95, 93 Hex: #635F5D Text Light CMYK: 46, 41, 44, 5 RGB: 142, 136, 131 Hex: #8E8883 Line White CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 0 RGB: 255, 255, 255 Hex: #FFFFFF Line Grey Accent CMYK: 25, 19, 23, 0 RGB: 192, 192, 187 Hex: #C0C0BB
Data Colors Main Colors a thing a different thing another different thing another different thing neutral thing No Data CMYK: 12, 24, 100, 0 CMYK: 7, 57, 97, 1 CMYK: 86, 35, 46, 10 CMYK: 48, 61, 28, 4 CMYK: 42, 38, 49, 4 CMYK: 9, 8, 8, 0 RGB: 227, 186, 34 RGB: 230, 132, 42 RGB: 19, 123, 128 RGB: 142, 109, 138 RGB: 151, 143, 128 RGB: 229, 226, 224 Hex: #E3BA22 Hex: #E6842A Hex: #137B80 Hex: #8E6C8A Hex: #978F80 Hex: #E5E2E0 a subset of the thing a subset of the different thing a subset of the other different thing a subset of the other different thing a subset of the neutral thing CMYK: 6, 9, 78, 0 CMYK: 2, 31, 76, 0 CMYK: 70, 17, 28, 0 CMYK: 31, 42, 18, 0 CMYK: 25, 22, 32, 0 RGB: 242, 218, 87 RGB: 246, 182, 86 RGB: 66, 165, 179 RGB: 179, 150, 173 RGB: 193, 186, 169 Hex: #F2DA57 Hex: #F6B656 Hex: #42A5B3 Hex: #B396AD Hex: #C1BAA9 a subset of the thing a subset of the different thing a subset of the other different thing a subset of the other different thing a subset of the neutral thing RGB: 189, 143, 34 RGB: 186, 95, 6 RGB: 0, 93, 110 RGB: 104, 70, 100 RGB: 124, 113, 94 Hex: #BD8F22 Hex: #BA5F06 Hex: #005D6E Hex: #684664 Hex: #7C715E Specialty Colors Republican Democrat Independent Con Pro Money CMYK: 27, 84, 96, 22 CMYK: 89, 52, 27, 6 CMYK: 58, 34, 73, 13 CMYK: 18, 95, 98, 8 CMYK: 84, 24, 60, 5 CMYK: 67, 30, 100, 13 RGB: 154, 62, 37 RGB: 21, 107, 144 RGB: 112, 130, 89 RGB: 189, 45, 40 RGB: 15, 140, 121 RGB: 92, 129, 0 Hex: #9A3E25 Hex: #156B90 Hex: #708259 Hex: #BD2D28 Hex: #0F8C79 Hex: #5C8100 a subset of Republican a subset of Democrat a subset of independent a subset of Con a subset of Pro a subset of Money CMYK: 25, 60, 69, 8 CMYK: 64, 38, 20, 1 CMYK: 44, 27, 57, 2 CMYK: 6, 79, 80, 1 CMYK: 58, 5, 45, 0 CMYK: 43, 12, 100, 0 RGB: 179, 112, 85 RGB: 104, 139, 171 RGB: 149, 161, 126 RGB: 226, 90, 66 RGB: 107, 187, 161 RGB: 160, 183, 0 Hex: #B37055 Hex: #688BAB Hex: #95A17E Hex: #E25A42 Hex: #6BBBA1 Hex: #A0B700
Bar Graph (categorical) Title of the chart For explanatory text that s not very long. Y Axis Title Starts at 0 30 units 20 units 10 units 0 Day with the least overall orange production Day with the most Granny Smith Apple production Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday X Axis Title Possible label: Fill: White (#FFF) Line: Line Grey (#C0C0BB) Possible line: 1px 4pt dash 4pt gap Line Grey Possible label: Fill: White (#FFF) Line: Line Grey (#C0C0BB) amount of unique fruits needed to fill a bushel Honey Crisp Apples Granny Smith Apples Clementine Oranges Navel Oranges Possible Key: Fill: Background dark Accent (#E5E2E0) Line: Line Grey (#C0C0BB) When to use a Bar or Column Chart Use mostly for one variable. Compares numerical values for different observations. Shows relative amounts. Grouped or stacked bars or columns can break that one numerical variable out into different sub-groups. Your data should look like: Honey Crisp Granny Smith Clementine Monday 3 12 3 10 Tuesday 3 9 2 7 Wednesday 3 18 4 12 Thursday 3 15 3 10 Friday 3 3 5 22 1994 7 Navel 1995 8
Line Graph (political) Title of the chart For explanatory text that s not very long. When to use a Line Graph Shows the trend in one variable usually over time. Multiple lines can show multiple variables (if they are on the same scale). Y Axis Title $3,000 $2,000 $1,000 $1,090 ITC Franklin Gothic book 10px Text Light color $2,100 $710 2px of color $3,030 $930 Republican Democrat Multiple lines can also show the same variable for multiple observations. Your data should look like: Time Republican Democrat 1990 1 2 1991 2 5 1992 4 9 $590 1996 6 13 0 2000 2010 2020 1994 7 15 1995 8 17 Starts at 0 X Axis Title
Pie Chart (pro/con) Title of the pie chart For explanatory text that s not very long. Pro (94%) Con (5%) Other (1%) ITC Franklin Gothic Demi/Book 12px When to use a Pie Chart Use them very sparingly. Often a bar or column chart is better. It is much more difficult to visually judge the size of circles (or circle segments) vs. rectangles. You want to show the relative relationship between 2-3 things. They add up to 100% (which may necessitate the inclusion of a category such as none, other, etc.) Your data should look like: 1px line Line Grey Pro Con Other 94 5 1 1px stroke #FFFFFF white
Scatter Plot (single variable) Title of the chart For explanatory text that s not very long. When to use a Scatter Plot Shows the relationship between two continuous variables for your set of observations. Each point in the plot represents an object. Y Axis Title 6,000 5,000 4,000 5px 0 ONLY for scatter plots. The y axis CAN be alterted and broken. 1px Line Grey with 1px white line inside FirstName LastName FirstName LastName 10 20 30 40 X Axis Title FirstName LastName Firstname LastName FirstName LastName possible label: 1px stroke Line Grey. Use only horizontal lines and 45 degree lines or just horizontal lines possible trend line: 1px 4pt dash 4pt gap Line Grey possible label: ITC Franklin Gothic book 10px Text Main You can change color or symbol to show groups. Sometimes it is nice to show a trend line (regression). Your data should look like: variable 1 variable 2 7.560309668 48.87193277 8.569477057 57.70873996 5.178854559 35.50990599 5.044602676 31.94896911 7.629095533 49.76954493 6.631379 46.66529366 7.035723733 45.68632108 8.152163624 57.46279438
Scatter Plot (multi variable) Title of the chart For explanatory text that s not very long. When to use a Scatter Plot Shows the relationship between two continuous variables for your set of observations Each point in the plot represents an object. Y Axis Title 6,000 5,000 4,000 FirstName LastName FirstName LastName FirstName LastName FirstName LastName Apples Oranges Pear Papaya Possible Key: Fill: Background dark Accent (#E5E2E0) Line: Line Grey (#C0C0BB) You can change color or symbol to show groups. Sometimes it is nice to show a trend line (regression). Your data should look like: variable 1 variable 2 7.560309668 48.87193277 8.569477057 57.70873996 5.178854559 35.50990599 0 10 20 30 X Axis Title Change both color and shape if possible (helps with sight issues) 5.044602676 31.94896911 7.629095533 49.76954493 6.631379 46.66529366 7.035723733 45.68632108 8.152163624 57.46279438
Map (sequential, single hue, money) When to use a Map Be sure to only use a map if the primary component of your data is geographical. Sometimes a ranked list or bar chart is better if you are just trying to compare a single value for each state. Color scale comparisons are harder for humans than size comparisons. Keep this in mind as you choose between a map or another layout.
Choropleth Colors (for maps) Political Colors (stick to choropleths of 5 or fewer colors for maximum readability) Non-political Colors (stick to choropleths of 5 or fewer colors for maximum readability) More Republican Less Republican No data Anti 50/50 Pro No Data #712422 #9A3E25 #B37055 #D9A78D #EDCEBC #E5E2E0 #BD2D28 #C37A73 #C8C6C6 #75A999 #0F8C79 #E5E2E0 More Democrat Less Democrat No data More Money Less Money No Data #05426C #156B90 #688BAB #8CAEC6 #BAD2E2 #E5E2E0 #0C4E00 #5C8100 #A0B700 #D2CF00 #E6E4A6 #E5E2E0 More Republican 50/50 More Democrat No data More Thing Less Thing No Data #9A3E25 #D9A78D #C8C6C6 #8CAEC6 #156B90 #E5E2E0 #936B00 #BD8F22 #E3BA22 #F2DA57 #F1E8AE #E5E2E0
Network Graph Colors 30 colors. TRY not to use them all. #F2DA57 #F6B656 #E25A42 #DCBDCF #B396AD #B0CBDB #33B6D0 #7ABFCC #C8D7A1 #A0B700 242, 218, 87 244, 182, 86 226, 90, 66 220, 189, 207 179, 150, 173 176, 203, 219 51, 182, 208 122, 191, 204 200, 215, 161 160, 183, 0 #E3BA22 #E58429 #BD2D28 #D15A86 #8E6C8A #6B99A1 #42A5B3 #0F8C79 #6BBBA1 #5C8100 227, 186, 34 229, 132, 41 189, 45, 40 209, 90, 134 142, 108, 138 107, 153, 161 66, 165, 179 15, 140, 121 107, 187, 161 92, 129, 0 #B08B12 #BA5F06 #8C3B00 #6D191B #842854 #5F7186 #193556 #137B80 #144847 #254E00 176, 139, 18 186, 95, 6 140, 59, 0 109, 25, 27 132, 40, 84 95, 113, 134 25, 53, 86 19, 123, 128 20, 72, 71 37, 78, 0